Slivers of Flowerpots

Preparing the Surface of Single Crystal

High Temperature Superconductors
Using the Ultracut
K.P.Singh, Research Scholar, Department of Physics
M.Shahabuddin, Jamia Millia Islamia,Reader of Physics

I. Whats a high Tc?

Properties which define superconductivity
Specific kinds of superconductors: high Tc cuprate family

II. Why try to cut them?

Theyre as hard as flowerpots (ceramic), but the physics
is compelling!

III. Crystal Preparation and Cutting

Using the Ultracut @ the Microscopy Suite to Prepare
Surfaces.

IV. Prospective Measurements

Thanks to Dept. of Physics.

What is a superconductor?
Superconductors are characterized by a few central properties:
ZERO RESISTANCE below a certain temperature, Tc the critical temperature
Most wires possess some amount of resistance to
the flow of electricity. This leads to energy loss.
Superconductors allow electricity to flow freely without
loss of energy. Theyre perfect conductors.
DIAMAGNETISM that is, a superconductor cannot be magnetized,
It expels all magnetic flux when a field is applied.

Kinds of superconductors
Superconductors are classified based on their Tc , among other properties.

LOW Tc SUPERCONDUCTORS: familiar materials (metallic elements)

Lead
Indium
Mercury...

Tc(K)

Alloys of these

HIGH Tc SUPERCONDUCTORS: not so familiar materials (ceramics)

Rare earths + copper + oxygen = CUPRATES
Discovered in 1986, Bednorz and Mueller

Cuprate of Choice: Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8 (BSCCO)

(pronounced Bis-co)
Well-Studied High Temperature Superconductor
Tc~ 92K
Grown as single crystals (Argonne National Labs., MSD, D.G. Hinks)

Whats so special about these superconductors?

1. We dont understand fully how they superconduct.
How electrons pair to form a superconductor is
a complex issue.
Bardeen, Cooper and Schreiffer (all from UIUC)
figured out how low Tcs superconduct (late 1950s), but the
high Tcs are a mystery.

2. Unlike the low Tc materials, these high Tcs are

anisotropic, that is properties are different in
different directions.

Can the anisotropy of certain properties tell

us anything about the mechanism for
high Tc superconductivity?

Why would we want to cut these?

In order to measure the anisotropy of different properties, we have to
cut the crystals somehow in order to expose different crystallographic
orientations.
Our measurements are surface-sensitive, so we need a technique
that allows us to prepare a very smooth (to within a few 10s of nm)
surface.

Use the Ultracut!

We were wary at first, since high temperature
superconductors are ceramics.
Could we cut a flowerpot-like material
with a delicate diamond knife?

BSCCO

Attach Au wires to the base of

the crystal using silver paint.

Use a Teflon block to hold

crystal + leads in place inside
a cylindrical mold and fill
with epoxy.

Result is a structure that is

partially wired and ready
to be ultramicrotomed.

Grown of Single Crystal

The Ultracut is no more than a refined paper cutter for our system!
Our material is ordered like a stack of papers.
Each sheet of paper is a Cu-O plane.
We can choose to cut along the stack height or parallel
to the stack surface.
The direction of the cut influences the surface roughness.

OR
Against the grain
Causes some buckling at
the surface, thus rough features

Along the grain

Smoother features

The physics were interested in is for samples

that are cut against the grain.
It is possible to cleave the crystal perpendicular to the
planes, but it is not possible to cleave parallel to the planes.

OK!

NO!

This is why ultramicrotomy is so important here:

Wed like to measure properties of a material in a
direction that does not cleave naturally.
In order to make those measurements, we need a
smooth surface (so that we dont average over other
crystal directions as much).

AFM of a BSCCO Surface Cut Against the Grain

Other techniques to prepare the surface, such as polishing

with diamond paper, dont come close!

Prospective Measurements

1. Measurements of the Superconducting Density of States

This tells us the energy spectrum of electrons
in a superconductor and how they pair with one another.
2. Preparation of other Unconventional Superconductors for Density
of States Measurements
Organic Superconductors

There are many superconductive systems that we

dont understand fully. Using ultramicrotomy as a way
to prepare surfaces will help!

Summary
The Ultracut is a great tool for surface preparation
of non-biological samples.
It has been used to cut hard samples, with only nominal
damage to the diamond knife.
It is possible prepare smooth surfaces that do not naturally
cleave, allowing measurements of anisotropic properties of
superconductors.
Surface-sensitive measurements will benefit from the Ultracut,
since the surfaces created by the knife are only a few nanometers
rough. This is a dramatic improvement upon current surface prep.
techniques such as polishing.

K.P. Singh, University of Jamia Millia Islamia, Jan 2003